A couple months later, my sister who inspired me to start running asked me what races I was planning. We agreed that the Zoo Run would be fun and a great opportunity to get my nieces and nephews involved. It became a plan!

After an extremely hot and humid early September, the weekend of the race arrived with much cool temperatures, wind and rain. In planning my race kit the night before, I included a tank and long sleeve shirt. A rain poncho and sunglasses. Shorts and a jacket. I wound up choosing a mix of these, long sleeve, shorts, hat. Taking heed of the getting there and parking warnings, I left early and pulled straight into the parking lot with no problems at around 8:20 am. I sat in the parking lot watching people arrive through the rainy windshield. I had a warm car, tea and Timbits to keep me comfortable. Wait, Timbits?!

Yes, I know they say never try anything new on race day. Just like with signing up for the race, I figured I would wing it a bit. I've tested many things on my long run days, but nothing can fully simulate a race morning...like an actual race morning. A lot of things were different with this race: I kept my usual run schedule the week of my race instead of doing any kind of taper. My dinner the night before was not my usual pre-race salmon, rice and beans. Instead it was oatmeal, banana, blueberries and peanut butter. And an hour before the race was to start, I gleefully gobbled up three or four Timbits with strong black tea.

My sister was coming from my nephew's hockey game with her sister-in-law and my oldest niece and arrived smack-dab with everyone else lining the entrance to get in. The good thing was that by that time, the rain stopped. We made our way to the entrance, bag-check and washrooms.

I had yet to decide whether I was going to run with the three of them or aim for a PB. Most of my recent training had revolved around my 15K and half marathon, not focused on a very fast 5K. That said, I had been doing a weekly track work out, so I was curious. This race would be my niece's first 5K race and since she hadn't done much training, they knew they would likely be running/walking. As we approached the corrals to start, I decided. I was going to go for it. After all, I'd never gotten to start in a red corral!

The first kilometer of the race was fairly crowded with people and puddles, so I was able to prevent myself from going too fast. Kilometers two and three I felt strong and my pace was within PB time. The fourth kilometer with its corners and little hills took it's toll. I slowed a bit. With 400m to go, I was done, but I managed to keep trekking after pausing for two or three seconds. With the finish line in sight, I sprinted and crossed knowing I was very close to my PB time.

I stood off to the side of the finish chute to wait for my family so I could snap some photos of them crossing. After a few minutes, I found my results online. My finish time was 30:22, one minute over my PB time. Initially I was a little disappointed and starting thinking 'what if' this and that. Then I looked at my running app and I saw that my GPS had tracked the course at a 1/4 kilometer over 5K, which accounted for all the turns and that I likely did not take the tangent of each. Many people crossing the finish line remarked that it was far more hilly than they anticipated. I realized that had this been a flatter, straighter course, I likely would have been able to pull off a PB. This definitely made me feel better as had I wondered if I would ever be able to push myself the way I had to reach my previous 5K PB.

I was also very pleased to see that I was 20th in my age category! Definitely a great way to build my confidence for my next two fall races.

My sister, her sister-in-law and my niece crested the hill and crossed the finish with a gun time of 38:11. Not bad for my niece's first race that she hardly trained for! We immediately went to meet my brother-in-law, nephew and younger niece who would be running in the cub run at the front entrance. In somewhat a comedy of errors they were in fact waiting only meters away from where we had finished with no way to reach us due to a dead mobile phone battery. We managed to catch up to them in time to get the bibs pinned on and get them to the corrals. My four-year-old niece enjoyed the high-fives and seeing us cheer her on, while my seven-year-old nephew made an incredibly impressive sprint from the back of the corral to the front to finish within the fastest cubs, leaving my sister in the dust!

A great day all around. After participating in many events with my running friends, it was fun to have my family share a race day with me! One of my favourite parts of the day was chatting about all things running and racing with my oldest niece as we wandered the trails of the zoo after the race. Fingers crossed it will become an annual event for us!